Austin Tyler White[3][4] was born on August 2, 1997, in the Atlanta suburb of McDonough, Georgia. His parents were divorced prior to his birth. White has been a fan of professional wrestling since childhood, citing John Cena as a huge influence and having dreams of joining WWE since he was eight years old.[5][6][7] In 2015, he placed first in the NPC Georgia Bodybuilding Championship, Teen Men category when he was 17.[8][4]
At Evolve 117 on December 15, Theory defeated Fabian Aichner and Roderick Strong in a triple threat match to win the Evolve Championship.[17] Over the next few months, Theory successfully defended the title against the likes of Henry, Kyle O'Reilly, Raul Mendoza, and Leon Ruff.[18][19][20][21] Following a backstage confrontation between Theory and JD Drake, a Winner Takes All match for both the Evolve Championship and WWN Championship was set for Evolve 131 on July 13,[22] which was won by Theory.[23] On August 25, at Evolve 134, he retained the Evolve Championship against Drake and Josh Briggs in a triple threat match.[24] Theory lost the title to Briggs at Evolve 139 on November 9.[25]
Prior to his signing with the company, he participated in a WWE tryout in February 2018.[4][7] On April 8, during day 4 of WrestleManiaAxxess, Theory retained his WWN Championship against Marcel Barthel.[6]
On August 10, 2019, Theory was shown on-screen in the crowd at NXT TakeOver: Toronto.[28] Five days later, it was announced that he signed a contract with WWE and would report to the WWE Performance Center.[29] On the December 25 episode of NXT, Theory made his in-ring debut, accepting Roderick Strong's NXT North American Championship open challenge in a losing effort.[30] On the January 8, 2020 episode of NXT, he achieved his first victory by defeating Joaquin Wilde, while subsequently establishing himself as a heel.[31]
On the March 30 episode of Raw, Theory made his main roster debut as an associate of Zelina Vega. He teamed with Angel Garza and Seth Rollins in a losing effort to Kevin Owens and Raw Tag Team ChampionsThe Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford).[32] Theory and Garza faced The Street Profits for the Raw Tag Team Championship at Night 2 of WrestleMania 36 on April 5 and the following night on Raw, but lost both matches.[33][34] After defeating Akira Tozawa on the April 13 episode of Raw, Vega's other associates, Garza and Andrade joined him in beating down Tozawa as all three posed together, confirming their status as a faction.[35] On the May 18 episode of Raw, Theory was attacked by Andrade and Garza after accidentally costing them a tag team match against Apollo Crews and Kevin Owens, kicking him out of the faction. Later that night, he assisted Rollins and Murphy in attacking Black, formally joining Rollins' group as a disciple.[36] Following the June 22 episode of Raw, he stopped appearing with Rollins and Murphy.[37]
As part of the 2021 Draft, Theory was drafted to the Raw brand.[45] On the October 4 episode of Raw, Theory returned to the brand by attacking Jeff Hardy[46] and defeated him on the next two episodes of Raw.[47] As part of the new gimmick, he began taking selfies of himself and opponents, even during matches.[48] After Rey Mysterio was injured by Bobby Lashley on the November 15 episode of Raw, he was removed from Team Raw for Survivor Series and replaced by Theory.[49] At the event on November 21, Theory eliminated Sheamus before he was eliminated by Hardy, but his team won the match against Team SmackDown.[50] On the following episode of Raw, it was revealed that Theory took Cleopatra's Egg from Mr. McMahon, leading to McMahon to reward Theory a WWE Championship match against Big E in the main event for "showing intestinal fortitude", which he lost.[51] Theory would be given career advice by McMahon over the following weeks, serving as his protégé.[52][53][54] At the Royal Rumble on January 29, 2022, Theory entered his first Royal Rumble match at #3, lasting 22 minutes before he was eliminated by AJ Styles.[55] Two days later on Raw, Theory defeated Kevin Owens to qualify for an Elimination Chamber match for the WWE Championship at the namesake event on February 19,[56] but was the last man pinned by Brock Lesnar after being hit with an F-5 from the top of one of the pods down to the floor.[57] On the February 28 episode of Raw, Theory bribed McMahon into having himself accompany him to his interview with Pat McAfee to no avail.[58] Theory confronted McAfee on the March 4 episode of SmackDown, announcing he would be McAfee's opponent at WrestleMania 38.[59][60] At Night 2 of WrestleMania on April 3, Theory lost to McAfee, but helped McMahon defeat McAfee in the subsequent fight that ensued, until Stone Cold Steve Austin came out and hit Theory, McMahon, and McAfee with Stone Cold Stunners.[61]
The following night on Raw, Theory and The Usos defeated RK-Bro (Randy Orton and Riddle) and United States ChampionFinn Bálor after Theory pinned Bálor, earning the chance to challenge for Bálor's title.[62] In a backstage segment the following week, Theory announced he and Mr. McMahon decided that the name Austin did not suit him anymore, dropping the first name and going by Theory.[63] On the April 18 episode of Raw, Theory defeated Bálor to win the United States Championship for the first time in his career, becoming the second youngest champion in the title's history and the youngest champion under the WWE banner.[64] On the May 9 episode of Raw, Theory lost in his first title defense against Cody Rhodes by disqualification after interference from Seth "Freakin" Rollins, but as championships cannot change hands by disqualification, he retained the title.[65] He successfully defended the title against Mustafa Ali on the May 30 episode of Raw and at Hell in a Cell on June 5.[66][67][68]
At Money in the Bank on July 2, Theory lost the United States Championship to Bobby Lashley, ending his reign at 75 days.[69] Later that night, he was added to and won the Men's Money in the Bank ladder match, making him the youngest superstar to win the Money in the Bank contract in WWE history, as well as being the first Money in the Bank winner to lose a title and win the contract on the same night.[70] At SummerSlam on July 30, Theory failed to regain the United States Championship from Lashley.[71] Later that night, he attempted to cash in his Money in the Bank contract during the Undisputed WWE Universal ChampionshipLast Man Standing match between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns, but was hit with an F-5 by Lesnar before he could officially cash in.[72] In August, his name was reverted to Austin Theory.[73] At Clash at the Castle on September 3, he again attempted to cash in his Money in the Bank contract during the main event, only to be knocked out by Tyson Fury before he could officially do so.[74] On the November 7 episode of Raw, Theory cashed in his Money in the Bank contract on Rollins for the United States Championship, but was unsuccessful, partially due to interference from Lashley.[75]
On November 26, at Survivor Series WarGames, Theory defeated Rollins and Lashley in a triple threat match to win his second United States Championship.[76] He retained the title against Rollins and Lashley on the January 2 and 23 (in a No Disqualification match) episodes of Raw, respectively.[77][78] At the Royal Rumble on January 28, 2023, Theory entered at #25, but was eliminated by eventual winner Cody Rhodes.[79] At Elimination Chamber on February 18, Theory successfully defended the title against Bronson Reed, Damian Priest, Johnny Gargano, Montez Ford, and Rollins in an Elimination Chamber match, marking the first time the title was contested inside the namesake structure.[80][81] On the following episode of Raw, he retained the title against Edge in an open challenge after interference from Finn Bálor.[82] On the March 6 episode of Raw, Theory challenged the returning John Cena to a match for the title at WrestleMania 39, which Cena accepted.[83][84] At Night 1 of WrestleMania on April 1, Theory defeated Cena to retain the title.[85] At Backlash on May 6, Theory successfully defended the title against Bronson Reed and Lashley in a triple threat match.[86]
As part of the 2023 WWE Draft, Theory was drafted to the SmackDown brand.[87] On the May 12 episode of SmackDown, he lost to Lashley and Sheamus in a triple threat match for the World Heavyweight Championship tournament.[88] Over the following months, Theory successfully defended the United States Championship against Sheamus and Jey Uso.[89][90][91] On the August 11 episode of SmackDown, Theory was scheduled to defend the title against Santos Escobar, who was rendered unable to compete after Theory attacked him backstage. Theory was subsequently defeated by Escobar's Latino World Order stablemate Rey Mysterio in an impromptu title match, ending his second reign at 258 days.[92] The following week, he defeated LA Knight to become the number one contender to the United States Championship, but failed to regain the title from Mysterio on September 2 at Payback.[93][94]
Later that month, after a segment with Pat McAfee and The Rock, Theory began working with Grayson Waller as a tag team, known as A-Town Down Under.[95][96] On the October 13 episode of SmackDown, Theory and Waller challenged Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship in a losing effort.[97] On the January 12, 2024 episode of SmackDown, Theory faced NXT's Carmelo Hayes, but their match ended in a shoot no-contest after both of them landed on their heads from the top rope.[98] WWE later announced that they only suffered face contusions and Theory defeated Hayes in their rematch on the January 26 episode of SmackDown.[99][100] The next night, at Royal Rumble, Theory helped Logan Paul retain the United States Championship against Kevin Owens after handing him brass knuckles. He then entered the Royal Rumble match at number 13, but was eliminated by eventual winner Cody Rhodes.[101]
On February 24, at Elimination Chamber: Perth, Theory co-hosted The Grayson Waller Effect with Waller featuring Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins. After imitating The Rock, Cody and Seth attacked Theory while Waller did not get involved, teasing the dissolution of A-Town Down Under.[102] Nevertheless, Theory and Waller won a tag team tournament to qualify for the six-pack ladder match for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship at WrestleMania XL.[103][104] At Night 1 of WrestleMania on April 6, Waller retrieved the SmackDown Tag Team Championship for A-Town Down Under to become the new champions.[105] On the April 19 episode of SmackDown, the SmackDown Tag Team Championship was renamed as the WWE Tag Team Championship and the team was presented with new title belts by WWE's chief content officerPaul "Triple H" Levesque, and the general manager of SmackDown Nick Aldis.[106] On the May 3 episode of SmackDown, they defeated The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford) in their first title defense.[107] Later that month, they began a feud with #DIY (Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa),[108][109][110] culminating in a title match on the July 5 episode of SmackDown, where Theory and Waller lost the titles to #DIY, ending their reign at 90 days.[111] They failed to regain the titles on the following episode of SmackDown, ending their feud.[112]
Theory and Waller returned to NXT in September, challenging Nathan Frazer and Axiom for the NXT Tag Team Championship,[113][114] but lost their title match on the October 8 episode of NXT.[115] On the January 24, 2025 episode of SmackDown, it was announced that A-Town Down Under was transferred to the Raw brand.[116] On the January 28 episode of NXT, they hosted a special edition of The Grayson Waller Effect with the new NXT ChampionOba Femi to see if Femi was "worth the hype." Femi then offered to defend the NXT Championship in a triple threat match against A-Town Down Under at NXT Vengeance Day on February 15,[117] where Femi retained the title after Waller cost Theory the win.[118] On the July 21 episode of Raw, Waller aligned himself with The New Day, after it was reported Theory suffered a legitimate injury, quietly disbanding A-Town Down Under.[119]
On August 6, it was reported that Theory had been removed from WWE's internal active roster, leaving his status in the company unknown.[120]
White adheres to a straight edge lifestyle, in part due to his father's alcoholism. He has two younger half brothers from his mother's second marriage.[5]
^Theory and Waller won the WWE Tag Team Championship as the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship. The title was renamed on April 19, 2024 during their reign.
^ abRomero, Marcos (3 March 2019). "The Crash tiene nuevo campeón" [The Crash has a new champion] (in Spanish). El Sol de Tijuana. Archived from the original on 29 April 2023. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
^Bryant, Nathan (30 July 2022). "Roman Reigns def. Brock Lesnar to retain the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship". WWE. Archived from the original on 19 May 2023. Retrieved 24 May 2023. With bodies lying everywhere, Theory ran in with his briefcase, smashing Reigns across the face. Before he could cash in, however, Lesnar dropped him with an F-5 and turned around into a pair of Superkicks from The Usos.
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